2 weeks ago
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Arne Slot has faced criticism for traveling to Dubai for a vacation during the recent international break, considering the Reds went into the break off the back of three successive losses.
But the reality, according to the Daily Mail, is that his day job was very much at the forefront of his mind during the trip, as he plotted how to fix the Reds' problems. He is said to have spent most of his time in Dubai studying clips on his laptop ahead of Sunday's meeting with Manchester United.
Had Liverpool ended its losing run against United, there is no chance that Slot would have faced any criticism at all for his choice of destination during the break, but the 2-1 Premier League loss to the Reds' biggest rival has prompted some supporters to question whether he was fully focused in the Middle East.
Slot has been at Liverpool long enough now, though, that most people should know just how attentive to detail he is, and his application to the job simply cannot be questioned.
Liverpool's loss to United was the team's fourth in a row, which is the first time the Reds have been on such a torrid run since Brendan Rodgers was the manager.
The poor form has led many pundits to weigh in with their thoughts on what Slot could do to arrest the team's slump.
Former United striker Wayne Rooney is among them, as he said on The Wayne Rooney Show that Alexander Isak should be taken out of the team to make room for Hugo Ekitike.
"It's so difficult when you don't have a pre-season," Rooney said of Isak, who did not play at all for Newcastle in preseason for after going on strike to force through his move to Liverpool.
"He might've done stuff by himself, but he's paying the price of it. On performances, he doesn't deserve to be playing ahead of Ekitike."
Former Premier League striker Gabby Agbonlahor, meanwhile, suggested that Mohamed Salah's lack of form is a major issue right now.
Salah has not scored a league goal from open play since the opening game of the season, and spurned a presentable chance against United on Sunday that he would have been expected to convert.
"Salah's not firing, Salah and [Alexander] Isak have got no relationship at the moment," Agbonlahor told talkSPORT.
"Whenever Salah's trying to put him through, he's not making the runs. then [Hugo] Ekitike is on the bench, should he have been starting?
"I think they've got a problem there, it just seems [that it's] not working at the moment for Liverpool."
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